this past summer, i traded the bed from a '76 dodge pickup for a '74 pinto. the guy i got it from said that only the starter was bad. i put a new starter in, and it wasnt getting any gas. i ended up replacing all the fuel lines and installing an electric fuel pump ($80 for a mechanical fuel pump?!?) well, school time came around and i havent had much of a chance to work on it. the paint is shot, the interior is shot, but it always starts up after 3 pumps. it had 4 different kinds of rims on it, with one on the front that rubbed the caliper. i tracked down a set of aluminum or magnesium rims (had them brought in from mexico). they look like '80s firebird formula rims. i took the car for a short cruise down the road, and boy, is it slow! my mom has had 3 different pintos throughout the '70s, and said that the cars are just like that. this one has the 2.0/4-speed. today was the last day of regular classes for me, so after finals week next week, i will be working hard on the pinto to get it 100% driveable before Christmas. i have one quick question: what is the quickest, cheapest, easiest way to improve acceleration in this car? it took about 10 sec. to hit 40mph. any advice appreciated!!!
Welcome aboard ;D The 2.0l Ford motor has more hop up parts for it than most japaneese cars (except Hondas). so you can go from mild to wild with it.
I have the 2.0L/4-speed/3.55:1 rear end in my pinto. I wouldn't say it's a burner, but it's not that slow, either. I'd say you've still got air/fuel issues.
I was thinking about that. my cousin had an old capri w/ a 2.0. he said it was the same, and that little car was quick. like i posted earlier, i couldnt afford the mechanical fuel pump, so i installed an electric pump, rated at 5-9 psi. is this enough? the first pump i bought was rated at something like 2-5 psi. i'm pretty sure the carb could use a rebuild. according to my dad, the car has been parked 12+ years. i put new spark plugs, but i think i should replace the points(it has points, right?). i also have a problem with the drivers side door. the thumb button on the outside is missing, and the window wont roll all the way down. when you try to, it pops the door open. i haven had a chance yet to pull the panel off, but has anyone ever experienced anything like this?
Quote from: Poison Pinto on December 06, 2004, 05:17:11 PM
I have the 2.0L/4-speed/3.55:1 rear end in my pinto. I wouldn't say it's a burner, but it's not that slow, either. I'd say you've still got air/fuel issues.
i think that is where the problem lies. i've got some cash right now (hopefully, enough to get it on the road.) i made a bet with my dad----if i can have this car streetable soon, he will pay to have it painted. so im in a rush!!! the car idles perfectly. it almost hesitates when driving, and is also way slower than it should be, so i do believe i have air/fuel issues. i have a electric fuel pump, rated at 5-9 constant psi. is this enough for a carb? that is the only thing i can think of to make it run the way it does. can anyone suggest anything about the fuel pump? does it have enough pressure? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME
This is just a guess, but it sounds wierd that your car idles perfectly but almost hesitates(stalls?) while driving. While it does sound like the carb isn't getting enough gas, trying ajusting the idler screw alittle bit to make it run a little rich, the go blow some carbon outta that engine(not to much just moderatly, almost like normal driving) for a little while, and stop and get out and see listen to the engine for anything considerably abnormal. Shut it off, start it up, let it idle a little bit and then stick it in drive, and see if it still hesitates. If it does, shut it off and take the air cleaner off and have someone else start the car for you while you look at the choke. See how far it opens and rev the engine a couple times while watching the choke. If the choke goes all the way open, then your getting way to much air and that could easily stall the engine, but if it is open to a "normal" positon, which is hard to say, about halfway?, then I don't know what the problem is.It still might be the fuel pump but try to rule out everything else before it comes down to replacing the high dollar stuff.
P.S. Don't let the car run rich to long, you could burn your valves up! ;)
it really purrs at idle. it smokes very little, (ive driven it maybe 2 miles when i first got it, and maybe 2 blocks since ive been working on it, so i figure there must be quite a bit of carbon buildup. from what i understood, the car had been parked for 12 years, with the engine being turned by hand once a year. i couldnt afford a mechanical fuel pump when i put the electric on (the electric was almost $50 cheaper), but i have the money now, but would still like to use the electric pump, if it is powerful enough. the choke isnt a problem, way too hot around here for it to even come on. i havent rebuilt the carb, but would that cause this major power loss?
It might,if the gasket was crappy enough. I would think that your fuel pump would be strong enough for your carb, but I've never had to replace mine so I really don't know. Part of that power loss should be due to all that excess carbon!!! I would get bottle of carb a choke a cleaner(additive and spray) and see what that does. Also there's this stuff called Sea Foam, it works great at cleaning the carbon out of old engines and freeing the valves and other moving internals out. In Ohio you can get it at most any parts store and costs $5 but I think it would be a good investment for your purpose.
just thinking, could the clutch have anything to do with making it feel so slow? acceleration is about what i would expect, but it is real hard to get it faster than 50 mph. so, can the condition of the clutch have anything to do with final speed?
Hmmm... good question.If your going into gears with no problem then thats how a Pinto tranny should work. But if you find it really querky and cranky into shifts then it might be a problem. My brothers Ranger (2.3 liter) had the clutch go on it and he didn't have any real accleration problems, just getting it into gear, so I don't think that thats the problem? Any suggestions anyone?
If your still thinking about rebuilding the carb, here's a slighty cheaper opt that might produce the same results if it is carbon build-up. Take out the carb, geta new intake-to-carb gasket, a soak the carb in parts washer or bucket full of kerosine a gas for a little while(about a day or so) then, get your hands on an air compressor and blow gun and give it a good blast and let it sit to dry a little while so we don't have any fires when you put it back on your car. Start it up, take it for a spin, and check your plugs, if there rich and black, clean them and check the gaps. Stick them back in a see how its going for you. In about a week check the plugs again and see how it looks.
what about the points? does this car even have points? its a '74. if i soak the carb in parts washer or kerosene, will it destroy the gaskets?
If it's been parked for 12 years then flush the fuel tank, lines, new fuel filter, rebuild the carb by disassembling it and cleaning with carb dip and install new gaskets & parts, DO NOT blow into holes of a assembled carb with compressed air unless you plan on flattening your brass float (if it's brass). replace the points & condensor, rubber belt (s), hoses & lines, plugs & change oil. This will get you going good until your cooling system can also be redone. 12 year old cracked tires are also unsafe.
Running an engine rich will wash the lubrication from the walls and wear the rings and cylinder quickly. Very lean, hot mixtures burn valves.
And 9 lbs. of fuel pressure is too much for a stock carb.
Well there you go. When I was rebuilding an engine on a 2.3 I washed out and BLEW the carb the way I described above, letting it only sit for a few days in the parts washer (kerosine) replaced the gasket, let it dry, and it runs fine now, no problems whatsoever, so I have to say I dissagree on you there, based on my experiences, but who knows, I could've just been lucky....And running the engine rich for a little while won't hurt the engine as long as you don't leave it that way, just for a short while, in fact it might do it some good. And, I wouldn't give up on the sea foam, while you do have to replace your fuel pump as cheapracer said I would still get some Sea Foam if you can find it to clean out your carbon. Oh and about your points, unless someone as installed a pointless distributor on your car, just take off the distributor cap and their the little gold curved shaped thingys that spin around.
i replaced all the fuel lines, tires(i even had some rims brought over from mexico), changed the oil and spark plugs, belts and hoses, all the basic stuff. im planning on rebuilding the carb on saturday, the only problem is the cars' location: i have some property about 20 miles north of town where i keep my vehicles. it is 5 acres, with 3 other plots on the street. one of the "neighbors" thought it would smooth out the road if they took all the rocks from the side of the road, and put them in the middle (the rocks are softball-sized, at smallest). i drive a '78 camaro that is lowered, and there is no freakin' way it could clear ANY of those rocks. i have a Jeep J-10, but the regisrtation is expired, so hope i can make it to the mvd early enough. i used to have a '73 4-door maverickw/ avacado green interior(the best part of the car), and i really miss the feel of that car. i get the same feeling sittin in my pinto...its great
A couple of suggestions. You can keep the fuel pump if you get a regulator.
I had a 75 with a 2.3 and it jumped a tooth on the timing belt. It still idled fine but it would barely accelerate until about 25 mph. I've broken the belt on other pintos but that one just jumped a tooth. I had to really turn the distributor to get it to run but it didn't run right until I changed the belt and got the cam timing right. Good luck
the pump i bought was a universal electric pump, specifically for a carburator. how much pressure(at most) should a carb be getting?
;D
by the way, thanks so much for all your help!!!
please keep it coming!!!!!